My Mistake
by magically speaking
Summary: One Shot: It's Ron's birthday but Hermione isn't there.


Hermione came home and immediately looked around for the clock.

A low groan escaped her lips as she saw with guilty eyes that it was indeed eleven pm. She was late. "Oh god, Ron's going to kill Me." she sighed.

Closing the front door behind her she kicked off her heels, put down her purse and went in search of her husband. As she walked through the house she saw, hanging from the ceiling, long colorful streamers and a big banner that read "Happy Birthday Ron!" In the kitchen there were numerous plastic cups, some full, some empty, and a half eaten birthday cake with the candles thrown beside it.

She let out a deep sigh_. I'm a horrible person_, Hermione thought to herself. _Everyone was here but me_.

She walked cautiously around the gift wrapping that was on the floor, as to not drop the single cupcake she was holding in her hand. Quickly she took a candle that was from the birthday cake, stuck it in the middle of her own, lit it, and went upstairs. She tiptoed quietly passed the children's room and into their bedroom.

She opened the door and saw that Ron was still awake. He was sitting on the bed, back against the headboard, flipping through the channels on the television. She mentally sighed as she realized that her hope for him being asleep, to avoid the inevitable fight, diminished.

"Hey..." She said with uncertainty. He didn't acknowledge her presence, but continued to keep his eyes on the screen.

Hermione sighed. She knew she messed up big this time. "Here, it's your favorite." She said handing the frosted cupcake over to him. When he didn't take it, she placed it on the nightstand. Seconds ticked on as the silence thickened the air around her.

"Ron I'm sorry." She said not really knowing where to begin. Her voice was soft, not wanting to further anger him.

Ron took in a deep breath and then exhaled. "No need to explain Hermione." He replied, his eyes still not meeting hers. "What's done is done."

"Ron, I didn't have a choice." She pressed. "If I didn't go in they would have given the case to that god awful Randy. And you know that I deserve it more than he does."

Ron didn't say anything, just continued changing the channels.

"Ron, say something." She said, slightly panicked.

"…."

"Fine." She shot back. Turning around, she stalked into the master bathroom and shut the door behind her. Hermione laid her hands on the sink, closed her eyes tightly, and allowed her head to hang loosely to rid the growing tension in her neck. Hermione wasn't the type to forget. The fact that she wasn't there tonight was not because of a short memory. Tonight's party racked her brain since the moment she woke up this morning. Going over the plans of when the guests would arrive, making a mental list of all the last minute items at the market she would have to get after work, and making sure that on top of it all Ron never found out about it.

Hermione wasn't sure why she was so upset. After all, she had been the one who messed up. The fact that he didn't understand where she was coming from and why she felt the need to work over time was a testament that he possibly wasn't aware of their financial burdens at the moment. He never knew about their finances, always assuming she would take care of it when the time came.

Frustrated, Hermione let the tight clip out of her hair sending her mass of curly hair to lie upon her shoulders. Now that she was tucked away in the bathroom, she didn't want to go back out there only for him to start yelling at her. Then again, his demeanor was in his "I'm super pissed I can't even talk to you" stage. And to her that was always the worst. She could handle yelling Ron; she'd been doing so for the past decade. Quiet Ron, however, was always the one she worried about. Sometimes it would take days for him to open up to her, to get him to start talking again.

Deciding this fight would last much longer than just tonight, Hermione stripped herself of her work clothes, gave her face and teeth a quick scrub, pulled on clean undergarments and walked out of the bathroom. She chanced a quick glance in his direction. But to no avail, his attention was still else were.

Making her way over to their dresser she pulled out one of Ron's oversized t-shirts that she would always wear to bed. Hanging down to her knees, she felt it engulf her in its warmth and smell. As she pulled it over head she was caught by surprise to see him scoot himself off the bed and stand before her.

"You weren't there." He stated. His voice came out in a stern way, making Hermione's body tense up, preparing for an all-out screaming match.

"Ron, I told you." She shot back. "I had to go in. You know very well that we need the money, especially now that both the children are starting Hogwarts in a few months."

"Rosie and Hugo have more than enough to make it through this year." He answered, his voice ever increasing. "And so we're in a tough spot right now. We've been in this situation before and we always make it through. You could have missed one day of your _precious_ work to be with your family, on my birthday no less."

"That precious job, Ron," She spat. "has kept us afloat many times if I'm not mistaken."

Ron couldn't believe his ears. He felt as if this was all some sort of birthday prank. That any minute now a camera man and host would jump out of the closet yelling "You're on Candid Camera!" like that awful show the kids love so much. But he knew it wouldn't end up like that. He knew that Hermione was being serious in her attempts of formatting an excuse for not attending his birthday.

"You know what Hermione, God, It's not even about the money or you're damn job!" said Ron. Running a frustrated hand over his face, she noticed his ears beginning to turn red.

"The fact is that you weren't there. Do you know how hard it was to explain to everyone why my own wife had missed my birthday?"

Hermione's shoulders begun to sag, her next retort drying on her lips.

"Not to mention the fact that Rose had sung a birthday song for me at the party." He continued. "She wanted you to hear it. They both were asking for you the whole night."

Hermione sat down on the bed with her head hanging down; her sudden drive to argue completely gone. "Oh god," she replied, a feeling of defeat washing over her. "I'm a huge arse aren't I?"

Ron exhaled and sat beside his wife. He began rubbing her back, comforting her in the fact that he couldn't stand seeing her miserable.

"I'm so sorry Ron." She replied quietly. "I'm never like this. I guess I've just been so stressed at work and trying to maintain what we have, that I just wasn't thinking straight.

Ron gently lifted her chin up so that she was looking straight at him. "You know I love you Hermione." He said softly. "I see the stress you have and I'll try to help. As much as you may think otherwise, I know about our money situation. Even if I didn't go to Gringotts every week I'd still know how were doing just by your expression."

Seeing her eyes fill with tears, he rubbed her arms trying to calm her down. "But you need to relax Hermione. I appreciate your drive to work hard for this family but I have a job too woman." He chuckled.

"I'm sorry Ron." she answered back. "And I love you too."

He wiped the fallen tears as they splashed onto her cheek. "Don't cry love, all is forgiven." Wrapping his arms around her, he lay her down on the bed and kissed her deeply.

"You know…" Ron said, between kisses. "There's still about thirty minutes until my birthday ends. How about my birthday present?"

Hermione giggled despite herself. "well come over here and open it." Was her answer before she rolled him over onto the bed and straddled his hips.

"Happy birthday to me…"


End file.
